Production and verification method for an access authorization means and corresponding access authorization means

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for producing and verifying a non-personal access authorization means ( 1 ), and a corresponding access authorization means, especially an entrance ticket ( 1 ) for carrying out the method. The aim of the invention is to reduce the risk of such an access authorization means being produced fraudulently. To this end, the invention provides that the following steps are taken; application of biogenically structured material ( 3 ) to the access authorization means ( 1 ); defined determination of the characteristic parameters of said biogenic material ( 3 ); storage of the recorded parameter data in data sets; verification by defined measurement of the predetermined parameters and comparison of the parameter data with the available data sets; and authorization of entry when the defined match criteria are satisfied. The biogenic material ( 3 ) is preferably integrated into a material ( 2 ) which is transparent to the measuring process used.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a method for producing a non-personal accessauthorization means and for verifying the access authorization.Furthermore, the object of the invention is an access authorizationmeans, in particular an admission card for carrying out the method asdefined by the invention.

2. Prior Art

Admission cards sold by organizers of, for example musical concerts,sporting and cultural as well as other events for the price of attendingsuch events, are the most widely used form of non-personal authorizationmeans, serving the purchasers of such admission cards as accessauthorization means for attending the respective event.

A growing problem is the unauthorized duplication of admission cards orother type of access authorization means. Duplicates of legallypurchased tickets are produced in this connection by means of commonlyemployed reproduction methods, ranging from photostatic copying tosophisticated printing methods, and such duplicates are then soldillegally. In addition to substantially losses suffered by theorganizers, such unauthorized duplication also creates situations thatsometimes even may be dangerous for the audience or spectators of suchevents, because the non-reproducible number of forged admission cardsleads to overbooking of the seats available for an event.

For the purpose of preventing such misuse, it is already known in theprior art to produce admission cards that are assumed to becounterfeit-proof. For this purpose, coded information, for example, isimprinted with visible or invisible colors, and in particular paper withmetal filaments or other inserts is employed; or water-marks areimpressed, or metallic strips microchips are integrated, or hologramsare used. It is, in fact, no longer possible to simply duplicateadmission cards prepared in such a way. However, it is increasinglyfound that such signatures practically pose no obstacle to professional,well-equipped counterfeiters, so that forged admission cards canpractically not be distinguished from “originals” assumed to becounterfeit-proof.

Another known method, in connection with which each individual admissioncard is provided with an individual identification code, and access ispermitted only if said identification code corresponds with a codecontained in a databank, does in fact offer the advantage that thenumber of admitted persons remains controllable. However, said method isafflicted with the drawback that access no longer can be gained withlegally obtained admission cards if the access authorization has beenpreviously invalidated by a forged card. In addition, it is not possiblefor the public to recognize up front whether an admission card is aforged card or not, because such a forgery cannot be exposed byavailable relevant control measures.

Another possibility of increasing the security against falsification bydetecting personal features, for example fingerprints, would hardly findacceptance by the public in general, on the one hand, and would bedeemed more than questionable for data safety protection reasons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on the situation explained above, the problem of the presentinvention is to make available a production and verification method foraccess authorization means, in particular admission cards, as well assuitable access authorization means for implementing said method, suchaccess authorization means offering increased safety against forgerywithout the use of person-specific features.

For solving said problem, the invention proposes a method with thefollowing steps of the method:

Application of biogenically structured material to the accessauthorization means;

defined detection of characteristic parameters of the biogenic material;

storage of the recorded parameter data in data sets;

verification by defined measurement of the predetermined parameters andcomparison of the parameter data with the available data sets; and

authorization of entry when defined criteria of coincidence aresatisfied.

According to the invention, an access authorization means of the typeknown per se such as, for example an admission ticket consisting ofpaper, cardboard or plastic, is provided with an organic substrate whichpractically represents a biogenic signature. For said purpose, a plantsubstrate with components of leaves or blossoms and also tissue cuts, isundetachably secured on the access authorization means. The use ofleaves or petals offers in this connection the advantage that suchelements are a regrowing raw material that causes no ecological damageif collected in a careful way.

Suitably, use is made of a plant material with a clearly recognizablestructure that permits such material to be identified in a simpler wayaccordingly. As an alternative, the use of material of animal origin isconceivably possible, employing materials ranging from pieces of tissueup to microbiologically produced substrates. Even the use of fossilpreparations is conceivable.

The special advantage offered by the use of such biogenic material asdefined by the invention lies in that its—frequently fractured—structureis coincidental to a large extent on the macroscopic scale, so that sucha structure represents in each case a type of “biogenic fingerprint”that is absolutely unique with respect to its characteristic structuralparameters, i.e. with respect to the parameters of its shape andmaterial.

According to the next-following step of the method as defined by theinvention, such characteristic parameters are detected withoutdestruction with the help of pre-defined measuring methods, which, forexample, may be locally limited or comprehensive, employing suitablemeasuring methods. For example, it is possible with the help of opticalmeasuring methods to record, for example the contours of a leaf as wellas its nervation in selected areas. Other measured values may contain,for example also the local spectral absorptive power or the like.Organic matter can be distinguished from artificial forgeries by meansof simple analysis.

The characteristic parameter data acquired in said manner are stored asdata sets in computer data banks and consequently can be handled in aparticularly efficient manner. Authorized admission card sales outletscan be easily supplied with data via mass storage media such as CD-ROMor the like.

The access authorization is verified by another defined measurement ofthe parameters predetermined in the detection process. Said measurementscan be carried out in a reproducible way with high accuracy by means ofautomated measuring equipment, so that the subsequent comparison of theparameter data acquired in said reading process, with the stored datasets previously acquired, permits unambiguous identification.

Access is authorized only once the comparison satisfied the previouslydefined coincidence criteria, i.e. if such comparison shows conformityof the features within a defined error tolerance range.

The special advantage of the invention lies in that each biogenicallystructured material specimen is absolutely unique, on the one hand, andimpossible to reproduce in all of its details by means of technicalproduction methods with justifiable expenditure, on the other hand, i.e.with each and every detail that can be used as a coincidence criterion.Duplication by means of available printing technology is excluded, forexample if only because a leaf of a plant, for example, in addition toits visible pattern, has a spatial structure that is practicallyfamiliar to most people of the same cultural complex, so that such astructure consequently can be recognized as such also without anyspecial instructions. Therefore, safe and quick access control ispossible in a quick and safe manner even for access control personneloverloaded by work under adverse conditions.

The verification process can be simplified at the same time and madeeven safer against falsification attempts by acquiring and measuring theparameters according to measuring instructions specified on the accessauthorization means. In order to increase the safety againstmanipulation, the measuring instructions are preferably encoded in areference statement which, for example, only contains a numerical codethat can be deciphered only in combination with corresponding code datafiles. For this purpose, a reference statement for a set of measuringinstructions is preset in an admission card, for example in amachine-readable, coded form like a bar code, magnetic strip, memorychip, or in plain writing or the like. Such a reference statement, forexample locally defines the measuring range or other values preset forthe measuring method, which can then be automatically translated by thereading device in the course of the verification process.

The measurement as such can be carried out with optical or othermeasuring methods, for example NMR, magnetic and electrical methods,etc., because magnetic resonance methods offer the advantage, forexample that the biogenic substance can be clearly identified.

The biogenic material is usefully preserved before it is applied to theaccess authorization means. Depending on the purpose of application itmay be deemed desirable that such preservation is durable only up to acertain point in time, so that automatic invalidation will take placeafter such time.

Before the biogenic material is applied to the access authorizationmeans it also may be additionally provided with an artificialidentification or marking with the help of special preparationtechniques. With the help of special dyeing techniques it is possiblealso to highlight structures that were not clearly visible before, andwhich therefore can be employed in a simpler way than identificationfeatures.

Furthermore, the object of the invention is an access authorizationmeans, in particular an admission ticket for carrying out the method asdefined by the invention and explained above. The biogenic material isin this connection usefully embedded in a material that is transparentto the measuring method to be applied.

A transparent plastic foil card with embedded plant components or othersolid elements is in fact known already from DE 43 226 42 A1. However,the embedded material of said card only serves decorative purposes, sothat its utilization for identification purposes has obviously not beensuggested.

It is basically possible to use in an admission card as defined by theinvention all materials discussed above, i.e. materials of bothvegetable and animal origin.

In order to accelerate the reading process and to further enhance thecoding as stated above, it is possible to provide the admission cardwith a machine-readable information carrier. Measuring instructions andother additional information can be stated, for example on a memorychip, magnetic strip or the like employed for said purpose.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description considered in connection withthe accompanying drawing. It is to be understood, however, that thedrawing is designed as an illustration only and not as a definition ofthe limits of the invention

FIG. 1 shows an admission card according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows an admission card suitably designed as an accessauthorization means for carrying out the method as defined by theinvention is shown by way of example in the drawing. Said admission cardas a whole is denoted by reference numeral 1, and substantially consistsof at least two plastic sheets 2, which are applied one on top of theother, for example in a laminated, fused or glued form. At least thefoil sheet disposed in the drawing at the top as the clarity of glass. Aplant leaf 3, which has been preserved and, if need be, prepared first,for example dyed, is solidly embedded between said two sheets 2. A papercarrier 4, which has been jointly embedded as well, is arranged next tosaid two sheets. Said paper carrier is provided with a bar code 5 and amemory chip 6, where, for example reference data for the measuringmethod to be applied are stored.

It may be stated in a coded form in said bar code 5 or memory chip 6,for example only the areas of the leaf 3 defined in the drawing bydashed lines are transilluminated for verification purposes with areading device, which is not shown in detail.

Any imitation is practically impossible owing to the uniqueness of theleaf 3 used as biogenic material in the present case, i.e. due to itssingular structure. Any forgery produced by technical printing meanswould be conspicuous even to a layman without deeper knowledge becausethe three-dimensional structure of the leaf 3 cannot be readilyrealized. Therefore, the method as defined by the invention ischaracterized by a degree of safety against forgery not knownheretofore.

Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention havebeen shown and described, it is obvious that many changes andmodifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of producing a non-person related accessauthorization means and verification of the non-person related accessauthorization means, comprising the following steps: applyingbiogenically structured material on the non-person related accessauthorization means; detecting characteristic parameters of the biogenicmaterial; storing the characteristic parameters data in data sets;verifying defined measurement of preset parameters and comparing thecharacteristic parameters, with the available data sets; and releasingdefined coincidence criteria being satisfied.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the characteristic parameters are detected and measuredaccording to measuring instructions specified on the accessauthorization means.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecharacteristic parameters contain structural parameters.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the characteristic parameters containmaterial parameters.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein thebiogenic material has a vegetable substrate.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the biogenic material has an animal substrate.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic parameters aredetected and measured with an optical measuring method.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the characteristic parameters are detectedand measured by means of a magnetic resonance measuring method.
 9. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the biogenic material is preservedbefore it is applied.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein thebiogenic material is provided with an artificial identification.
 11. Anaccess authorization means comprising biogenic material (3) embedded ina material (2) transparent to a measuring method to be applied.
 12. Theaccess authorization means according to claim 11, further comprising amachine-readable information carrier (4, 5, 6).
 13. The accessauthorization means according to claim 11, wherein the biogenic materialis provided with an artificial identification.